External Tanks to be modified at KSC

[shuttle_man]

A very full article by Chris Bergin. I feel many sympathys for the MAF guy speaking at the bottom of the article. God Bless him.<br /><br />http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?id=3646<br /><br />I personally feel and noted it on that site's forum that I believe it will be more likely to be in the VAB, but I'm not an ET guy.

 

[franson_space]

Where are all the Anti-Shuttle naysayers who were going on about how losing MAF for the short-term would mean the end of the Shuttle? All gone quiet?

 

[askold]

I wasn't going to say anything, but since you asked:<br /><br />http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ft_050901_et_atlantis.html<br /><br />...Ripple effects from Hurricane Katrina raised serious doubts about the agency's ability to launch its next mission in March....<br /><br />...The situation makes it increasingly unlikely that NASA will be able to launch its next mission as planned in March. The next window of opportunity doesn't open until May. But NASA officials say it's too early to tell whether storm damage will trigger further delay....<br />

 

[shuttle_rtf]

That story has old info in it. Wouldn't dare take on a paper that covers the local KSC area if I wasn't absolutely sure about that.

 

[radarredux]

> <i><font color="yellow">Where are all the Anti-Shuttle naysayers who were going on about how losing MAF for the short-term would mean the end of the Shuttle? All gone quiet?</font>/i><br /><br />Busy with work. Will respond later.<br /><br />Quick flippant remark: If the shuttle program can continue without Michoud, why was Michoud kept open?</i>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

>Quick flippant remark: If the shuttle program can continue without Michoud, why was Michoud kept open?<<br /><br />I'll field that if you want <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />For RTF 3 to happen, they need two ETs. There are three at KSC and they've deemed the mods can be done at KSC.<br /><br />That's really the only saving grace over all of this.<br /><br />They can't build ETs at KSC - which is why they needed MAF in the first place.

 

[radarredux]

> <i><font color="yellow">Where are all the Anti-Shuttle naysayers who were going on about how losing MAF for the short-term would mean the end of the Shuttle? All gone quiet?</font>/i><br /><br />There have been lots of twists and turns over the last week and a half, and much is still up in the air.<br /><br />Katrina lost about 35 MPH of wind speed in the last 12-18 hours before landfall, dropping from speeds up to 175 MPH down to 140 MPH. Katrina also changed course in the last 12 hours so that the strongest part missed New Orleans. Instead of being hit with the east side of the storm, it was hit with the west side, which probably reduced wind speeds by another 20+ MPH.<br /><br />The net result is that wind strength of the storm was about 55+ MPH <b>less</b> than had been feared a day and a half earlier. This was good news for the buildings at Michoud and the ETs and equipment they protected.<br /><br />Then came the bad news! The infrastructue supporting Michoud (roads, power, water, sewer, general city services) has been decimated, as well as much of the employee base (lost homes, possible lost lives). Secondary infrastructure (schools, grocery stores, shopping and entertainment) are also gone. Returning Michoud to full operational capability will be difficult.<br /><br />Then there is the expense of Katrina. Estimates of $100+ billion dollars, much of it carried by the tax payer, are being discussed. This may result in cuts to other government programs such as NASA.<br /><br />So what is the impact of Katrina on the shuttle program or the VSE? I think it is still too early to tell.</i>

 

[Testing]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9241242/ <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[nacnud]

I think one was at KSC ready to take a tank back to be modified, dunno if or where the others are.

 

[radarredux]

> <i>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9241242/</i><br /><br />Wow! That is a heavy article. For those debating on whether to click on the article, here is a little more:<br /><br />No shuttle flights for a year?<br />NASA memo warns impact of Katrina, tank problems could be long lasting<br />By James Oberg<br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>... an “extremely preliminary” planning document written by Wayne Hale, NASA’s deputy shuttle program manager, in which he concludes: “Launch dates before the fall of 2006 may not be credible."<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />In addition to the Katrina problems, the fact that NASA's computer models did not match the data that they collected in flight made NASA realize that they did not really understand the PAL/foam problem.

 

[shuttle_man]

We are still preparing for a Spring launch. Internal memos (this one doesn't exist) are always over cautious.